While not as famous as HSV the Holden Dealer Team (HDT) will be familiar to many Holden enthusiasts. HDT was the go-to tuning division for Holden in the 1980s and was run by Kiwi race legend Peter Brock – the nine-time Bathurst 1000 winner.

The wheels came off the partnership partly because of Brock’s belief in a component called the “Energy Polarizer”, which he began fitting to special performance Holden Commodores being built by HDT during the 1980s.

The Energy Polarizer was a largely unproven device said to align the various energies of the car to give it a boost in performance. It never really became an accepted performance modification.

Sadly, Brock died while driving in a rally in Australia on September 8, 2006.

Now as a contemporary tribute to Brock and his motorsport legacy, the crew at HDT have built a limited run of retro-styled Holden Commodore sedans designed to reflect the performance models launched during the Brock days. HDT have named these cars the Heritage Series and have design cues taken from the legendary VL Group A Commodore. Continue reading “HDT builds Peter Brock tribute Commodore” »

Australian tuning firm HDT has recently announced its new SS Group A or ‘Blue Meanie’, a VE SS replica of the SS Group A VK Commodore of the 80s.

The iconic Australian brand, HDT is now owned by Queensland businessman Peter Champion and is making a business of building retro-styled VE-based replicas of HDT classics.

While earlier replicas have been based on the original HDT’s VC and VH-based models, the HDT Commodore SS Group A rqnew HDT’s latest model has been created to honour what is perhaps the most fondly remembered of Peter Brock’s special Holdens.

The original was powered by a 4.9 litre de-stroked version of Holden’s 5.0 litre V8, the new VE-based replica is powered by a 350kW version of Holden’s 270kW V8.

To attain this level of power, the SS Group A is fitted with a tweaked camshaft, cool air intake, reprogrammed ECU and a fully customised exhaust system.

Power output can be pushed even further – right up to 500kW on buyer request.

Modified brakes and Bilstein springs and shock absorbers have been added to help handle HDT Commodore SS Group A intthe extra power and retro Aero-look 19-inch wheels fill the guards.

To complete the perfect SS Group A look, extra work has been put into the body kit, with the grille, rear wing, bonnet bulge, wheels, ‘Formula Blue’ paint job, badging and decals all clear in its inspiration.

With just 250 of the new SS Group A cars expected to be built, the new HDT – priced at $75,000 AUS is set to attract nostalgic Holden fans and collectors.

The original VK model, which originally cost $21,950 AUS and developed 196kW, will currently get up to around $120,000 AUS for mint examples.